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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. charge — a price
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tear — to rip
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cell — in biology
  16. game — a match
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. chip — to eat
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chip — for betting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com